Independent film director
Gus Van Sant attempts a first in American film history: a shot-by-shot remake of the classic 1960
Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. With a few minor, modern-day changes (including filming it in color), his version is essentially the same film with a different cast and the same Bernard Hermann music. Psycho was and still is the story of Marion Crane (previously played by
Janet Leigh and now by
Anne Heche), an adulterous woman who steals a stack of money from her boss and hits the road hoping for financial freedom. Pulling over in an old motel for the night, she meets the creepy owner of the Bates Motel, Norman Bates (
Vince Vaughn doing his best
Anthony Perkins), who lives with his jealous nagging mother. Most people know the film Psycho for what happens next -- the shower scene, where Marion is brutally stabbed in the most over-analyzed scene in movie history. The money, the car, and Marion's remains are quickly sunk in a nearby swamp. As a detective (William H. Macy) and Marion's sister Lila (
Julianne Moore) come looking for her, they begin to uncover the dark mysterious secret lurking in Norman Bates' life. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide